Muncie native returns as new MCS associate superintendent

Chuck Reynolds shakes hands with Muncie School Board members after being hired Friday as associate superintendent.(Photo: Seth Slabaugh/The Star Press)

MUNCIE, Ind. — Charles "Chuck" Reynolds — who led Southside High School's "Spirit of the South" to five State Fair Band Day championships before becoming a school administrator — was named associate superintendent of Muncie Community Schools on Friday.

The school board held a special meeting to approve the hiring because the district needs Reynolds "as soon as possible," board President Jim Williams said. "We need his expertise and experience."

"The recommendation (from interim Superintendent Steve Edwards) is that Dr. Chuck Reynolds, a native of Muncie, be selected to this position and return back to his rightful home at MCS," Williams said. "We could not be happier. We're just pleased as punch."

Reynolds is currently assistant superintendent of Richmond Community Schools.

In an interview, Williams said the district has been "spread pretty thin" since it stopped employing the full emergency management team (led by Edwards) that the state had placed in charge of the financially recovering district.

Reynolds is a Southside High School graduate who earned a bachelor's degree from Ball State University in all-grade musical education in 1998, when he became band director at Eastbrook Community Schools in Marion.

Two years later, he took over as band director at Southside, leading the "Spirit of the South" to state championships in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006.

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Then-Southside band director Chuck Reynolds is shown in this 2006 photo. Reynolds later became a Muncie Community Schools administrator, and was hired on Wednesday by Richmond Community Schools.(Photo: The Star Press)

After the last championship, Reynolds served as assistant principal at Wilson Middle School (2006-08); associate principal at Southside (2008-12); principal at Wilson (2012-14); and associate principal at Central (2014-15) before leaving for the Richmond position during the tenure of former MCS Superintendent Steve Baule.

While band director at Southside, Reynolds earned a master's in educational leadership, followed by an educational specialist degree in 2013 and a doctorate in educational leadership in 2017, all from Ball State.

In an interview after Friday's board meeting, Reynolds said he applied for the associate superintendent position because he is "passionate about," and "sees the potential" for, the "growth and advancement" of the financially recovering and academically struggling Muncie district.

Even though he had left Muncie for the Richmond job, Reynolds and his wife and their two children, students at MCS, continued to live in Muncie.

The school board on Friday issued a statement about Reynolds that said, in part:

"He comes highly recommended, is a proven leader, is a first rate educator and possesses innovative and transformational skills that have been honed through a broad array of professional experiences over the past 20 years.

"Of critical importance to our vision, Dr. Reynolds is a passionate citizen committed to the welfare of Delaware County, Muncie and our MCS family. His remarkable leadership of the Southside High School Band from 2000-2006 remains a justifiable source of pride for our city."

Ten people applied for the associate superintendent position, which pays $120,000.

Awards earned by Reynolds include Muncie City Council's Citizenship Award, The Star Press Difference Maker award, and the key to the city during Mayor Dan Canan's administration (when Reynolds was winning those state championships).

The school board will resume its search for a new superintendent during a retreat next week. In the meantime, Edwards is being paid nearly $1,000 a day, which includes all of his expenses, to lead the district.